We have a Dell desktop that is probably weeks away from giving up the ghost and I wan't replace it. I really like my monitor and all the peripherals, I just want to replace the CPU/tower, but I've never been down this road before. Is it possible to buy a refurbished tower with warranty? Do I necessarily have to concern my self with brands? Should I buy one with an OS already installed or do that myself? Honestly, I don't know which questions to ask. I just need some guidance.

Newegg online, and Microcenter Brick and Mortar, are your best safest bets.

You have a wide range of options.

Just guessing, your most economical option will probably be a motherboard CPU combo upgrade.

You might find a 1:1 replacement processor, but usually the sweet part of the tech curve has all the best prices. ie, whichever CPU MOBO standards are selling at highest volume right now will be cheaper overall than even going back and getting a slower processor whose price has curved back up since it's not on the high production burner at the moment.

Catalog the standards for all the pieces and peripherals you want to/can reuse, video cards, Ram, Hard Drive type [IDE/SATA].

Make note of your present MOBO socket standard. If your MOBO is new enough, there may be some economical processors that still fit in that socket, and that'll be a big savings.

I wouldn't worry about the brand on the outside of the case too much, though bigger, more commercial brands tend to have a lot more unwanted junk on them....

COUGH COUGH Hewlett Packard COUGH COUGH

Shop around, wait and don't rush it. Whenever i PC shop, the 1st thing i look at is the processor.

Everything else is upgradeable/replaceable.

If you buy a PC with a shit processor, then you'll always be bottlenecked until you replace that processor, and that might also mean replacing the MoBO depending on the socket type. And if you have to replace the MoBo, you probably have to end up re-installing the OS. As you can see, that's way more money/work than buying a PC that's weak everywhere else, but has a strong CPU.

I've built two towers in the last year. One for work, one for home.

The work computer had a somewhat unlimited budget, so i won't reference that.

My home computer though:

I shopped on Craigslist and found a donor Business class model. One of those crappy slim form PCs It was a shit computer...BUT it had a really nice processor. 2nd Gen I5 3.2GHZ Unlocked.

I bought that PC for $200. The processor alone is worth that. So not only do i get the processor, but i also get the Mobo to support it, an HD, Disc drive, 4gigs of Ram, PSU and an OS that's already installed.

So basically, almost $300 worth of stuff for free.

Then i bought an awesome case (Not needed, but i did it anyway), GPU (650 T.I) 4 more gigs of RAM and a new PSU (Also not needed, but so what).

$500 total build cost and i now have a really slick gaming PC that can play pretty much whatever i want on high/Ultra graphics settings.

And it coulda been cheaper had i skimped on the case and PSU. I coulda easily bought a $30 mid tower instead of the $100 midtower i bought, and the PSU wasn't necessary as the factory PSU coulda ran the new GPU i bought.

If you're buying a complete tower, the OS should already be installed in the first place. It's best to just buy it pre-installed because buying an OS by itself can be pricey depending on the OS. Windows 7 is about $100 (around there), and Windows 8.1 is pricier still.

Yes, you can buy a refurbished tower w/ Warranty. I'd use Amazon, personally. Fast delivery, good customer support and hassle free returns. That means a lot. I've heard nothing but nightmares about Newegg. You might save $10-$15 buying through Newegg, but i'd rather spend that extra money with Amazon knowing that if something goes wrong, Amazon has my back.

No, you don't have to concern yourself with brands, but like i said in my other post, big name brands tend to have more unwanted shit on them that can bog down your machine. HP is notorious for it. They're the worst imo.

I WOULD however take a look at the brand of components, particularly the processor, for reasons i explained above. Its much cheaper/easier to add RAM, an extra HD or a fancy pants GPU if you need it, than it is to swap a CPU/MOBO combo.

I just bought a new rig from them and the customer service was outstanding. I spent 2 hours on the phone and went through every single component on the machine with their sales manager, with his advice on where I could save money and where I should spend it. I bought a monster of a gaming PC, and you may not be looking for all that. They do sell cheaper models than what I bought, but not sure how low-end they go.

I priced out the parts separately and it was nearly the same after shipping, and buying separately didn't include the OS — or the lifetime warranty.

It is a program that activates a copy of windows on startup rather than within windows, so you can have all the updates you want. Seeing how MS has stopped selling keys for Windows 7, it is one of the last resorts left. It is either that, find a remaining copy in stock or buy windows 8.

Fun story. My dad bought a computer on Ebay that said it came with Windows 7. It did, but the catch was it did not come activated. Normally my dad would have to return the computer and fight against a restocking charge or buy a key for Windows 7. Instead, I ran Windows 7 Loader, and easy peasy he has an activated copy of Windows 7. Everybody is happy.

I just bought a new rig from them and the customer service was outstanding. I spent 2 hours on the phone and went through every single component on the machine with their sales manager, with his advice on where I could save money and where I should spend it. I bought a monster of a gaming PC, and you may not be looking for all that. They do sell cheaper models than what I bought, but not sure how low-end they go.

I priced out the parts separately and it was nearly the same after shipping, and buying separately didn't include the OS — or the lifetime warranty.

While I understood this worked out for you, these guys arent building basic budget towers. Also any time you are letting a boutique PC store like that build for you, you are gettin jacked somewhere.

It is a program that activates a copy of windows on startup rather than within windows, so you can have all the updates you want. Seeing how MS has stopped selling keys for Windows 7, it is one of the last resorts left. It is either that, find a remaining copy in stock or buy windows 8.

Fun story. My dad bought a computer on Ebay that said it came with Windows 7. It did, but the catch was it did not come activated. Normally my dad would have to return the computer and fight against a restocking charge or buy a key for Windows 7. Instead, I ran Windows 7 Loader, and easy peasy he has an activated copy of Windows 7. Everybody is happy.

When you are buying keys from reddit, they are legit keys. No need for it.